Sports Focus

Sports Focus, presented by WCHL and the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is dedicated to in-depth examinations of issues of overarching importance in the sports world. Each week we'll discuss problems and look for solutions to problems in professional, collegiate and amateur sports hosted by UNC journalism professor Charlie Tuggle.

June 14, 2014

This past week, former UNC Baksetball player Rashad McCants appeared on ESPN’s program Outside the Lines to allege that not only did he commit academic fraud by taking “paper classes” at UNC and having his work completed by tutors, but also that Head Coach Roy Williams actively encouraged it. Joining Charlie this week to discuss the implications of McCants’ allegations is Robert Silverman, a freelance writer based in New York whose work has appeared in The Daily Beast and ESPN.

June 7, 2014

This week, host Charlie Tuggle does a roundup of all that’s happening on the legal front in college sports. Joining him is Tim Epstein Partner and Chair of the Sports Law Group at SmithAmundsen and Professor of Sports Law at Loyola University.

May 24, 2014

Mark Nagle, Professor in the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management at the University of South Carolina, and Kyle Prairie, Director of Ticket Sales for the Carolina Hurricanes, join the discussion this week to talk about the $50 million lawsuit about play-off tickets.

May 17, 2014

Tracy Williams-Johnson, Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at UNC and former VP for the ABL, and Jamal Brooks, former NFL Linebacker, join the discussion this week to talk about the controversy around LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

May 10, 2014

Dr. Eric Anderson, Professor of Sociology, Masculinity, Sexuality at the University of Winchester, and Sean James, former NFL running back and advocate against bullying, join the discussion this week to discuss about an athlete’s sexual orientation and the NFL Draft.

April 19, 2014

The NCAA is facing several lawsuit in the near future. One that has not gotten as much attention as suits like the Ed O’Bannon suit, was filed in March. Former University of West Virginia running back Shawne Alston is claiming that the NCAA is violating anti-trust laws by capping the value of athletic scholarship at what he claims is far below the actual cost of attending most universities. Alston’s lawyers have released statements saying student-athletes should “no longer be treated as second-class citizens” and they shouldn’t have to “struggle to make ends meet while they are surrounded by multi-millionaire coaches.” Joining us to discuss the suit are Shawne Alston and Steve Berman, a partner at Berman, Sobol and Shaprio who is representing Alston.

April 12, 2014

This week we continue our discussion of unionization efforts in college athletics. In March a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago ruled that players at Northwestern University could be considered employees of the school and eligible to form labor unions. The NCAA and Northwestern have both appealed this decision. Players on the team have cast secret ballots to decide if they want to form a union. Those votes won’t be counted until the lengthy appeals process is over. Joining us to continue our conversation of this issue are Tim Crothers, former senior writer at Sports Illustrated, and Jason Kahn, sports reporter at the CBS affiliate in Tallahassee, Florida.

April 5, 2014

Recently, a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board ruled that scholarship football players at Northwestern University should be considered employees and given the right to unionize. The NCAA and Northwestern are appealing the ruling while others, like the National College Players Association, hope it will help end what they see as exploitation of college athletes by organizations like the NCAA. While the importance of this decision is unclear, we do know that this is the beginning of a long process and no one is entirely sure where it will end. Joining us to discuss the ramification of this decision and where the process goes from here is Jeffrey Michael Hirsch, a professor at the UNC School of Law who specializes in labor law and union organizing.

March 29, 2014

Recently, University of North Carolina system President Tom Ross was invited by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics to attend their latest meeting as an independent participant. President Ross spoke to the committee’s public session and met with members in their executive session. On this special edition of Sports Focus, President Ross joins us to discuss what he told the commission and what he thinks are the most pressing issues relating to college athletics in North Carolina and the nation as a whole.

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